Taggers plead guilty

With a pair of guilty pleas on Tuesday, the local law enforcement community has seemingly closed the books on a serious of malicious destruction of property complaints.

Chippewa County Prosecuting Attorney Brian Peppler confirmed the guilty pleas were taken during Tuesday’s preliminary exam before Judge Elizabeth Church of the 91st District Court. While the court session began in the 91st District Court, Judge Church accepted the felony guilty pleas while acting as a 50th Circuit Court Judge.

Steven Hill, 17, of the Sault and Elijah Garcia, 17, of the Sault were arrested in early April and charged with felony malicious destruction of more than $1,000 but less than $20,000.

Sault Police began investigating these incidents in mid-March when two commercial trucks were “tagged” with spray paint. Damage from that original incident was calculated to be in excess of $1,500 to repaint the vehicles.

The pair reportedly continued their activities over the next couple of weeks hitting street signs, area businesses, vehicles, private structures and the city’s parking garage.

Authorities had received at least one tip pointing to the two teens, but caught a big break when tracks in the snow led them from fresh paint to a residence in the 600 block of W. Portage. Armed with a search warrant, police recovered canned spray paint and a confession.

Peppler said sentencing for the pair will likely come some time in the next four to six weeks, but had not yet been scheduled on the court docket. He added that he will seek financial restitution from the pair to pay for the damage they caused through their illegal activities.